Has there been a baseball player whose impact transcended the sport quite like Jackie Robinson? You can argue that Babe Ruth is the most recognized name in the history of the game, or that Joe DiMaggio is the closest thing to a Hollywood icon Major League Baseball has ever seen, but no player had the impact throughout American society of Jack Roosevelt Robinson. One year before President Harry Truman ordered the integration of the U.S. Armed Forces and seven years before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a segregated Montgomery, Alabama city bus, Robinson debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Branch Rickey, Brooklyn's progressive club president, signed Robinson to the Dodgers for the start of the 1947 season, paving the way for Jackie to become the first black baseball player in Major League Baseball in the twentieth century. Robinson's crossing of the sport's "color line" was yet another "shot heard round the world"; it was indeed a monumental victory for equality in the country.
Although he was successful from the day he stepped foot onto Ebbets Field, a strong argument can made that the 1949 campaign was Robinson's finest. The slick-fielding infielder won the National League MVP that season, leading the senior circuit in batting, stolen bases, and—if sabermetrics are your thing—WAR. Although the Dodgers would lose the World Series to the New York Yankees, Jackie established himself as the finest all-around player in the game. The 1949 Bowman #50 card is a perfect memento from Robinson's stellar season. Offered here in sparkling PSA 8 NM-MT condition, this specimen is well centered with bold, pack-fresh colors and minimal toning. The last seven sales of this card in a PSA 8 holder, all since 2017, have exceeded the listed Sports Market Report value of $9,500. There might not be a better investment in vintage cardboard this side of Babe Ruth than Jackie Robinson. His cards aren't just collectibles, they are pieces of American history.